Nuclear terrorismISIS may get its hands on “highly dangerous” nuclear material stolen in Iraq

Iraqi security agencies are searching for “highly dangerous” radioactive material stolen last year. Experts are worried that the material could fall into the hands of ISIS. The material – Ir-192 — is designated a Category 2 radioactive by the IAEA, and it could be used to build a “dirty bomb,” which combines nuclear material with conventional explosives to contaminate an area with radiation.

Iraqi security agencies are searching for “highly dangerous” radioactive material stolen last year. Experts are worried that the material could fall into the hands of ISIS.

The Telegraphreports that the material disappeared from a U.S.-owned storage facility in Basra last November.

An unnamed senior security official said: “We are afraid the radioactive element will fall into the hands of Daesh (ISIS).

“They could simply attach it to explosives to make a dirty bomb.”

The paper cites a leaked document dated 30 November — a letter addressed to the ministry’s Center for Prevention of Radiation, which describes “the theft of a highly dangerous radioactive source of Ir-192 with highly radioactive activity from a depot…in the Rafidhia area of Basra province.”

An anonymous senior environment ministry official told Reuters the device contained up to 10 grams (0.35 ounces) of Ir-192 “capsules,” a radioactive isotope of iridium also used to treat cancer.

The material is designated a Category 2 radioactive by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), meaning it can be fatal to anyone in close proximity to it in a matter of days or even hours.

ISIS has demonstrated its willingness to use nonconventional weapons. Last August, the jihadist group attacked Kurdish forces with mustard gas during a battle near Erbil, the capital of the Kurds’ autonomous region in Iraq, with thirty-five Kurdish soldiers taken ill.

The material which disappeared from storage could be used to build a “dirty bomb,” which combines nuclear material with conventional explosives to contaminate an area with radiation.

Iraqi security officials said that preliminary investigation indicated those who stole the material had knowledge how to find it and how to handle it. There were “no broken locks, no smashed doors and no evidence of forced entry,” he said.

Two Basra provincial government officials told Reuters that on 25 November they were told to work with local hospitals to identify radiation victims.

One said: “We instructed hospitals in Basra to be alert to any burn cases caused by radioactivity and inform security forces immediately.”